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With the tragic loss of Tony Scott this past weekend, I’ve been thinking over which of the films he directed were my favorites and why:

1) Top Gun

The film that truly made him a household name, and it stands the test of time. It was the perfect project to show his dynamic and kinetic rhythm of shot selection, and this is the film that made it crystal clear that Tom Cruise is a bona fide star. The fighter jet dogfighting scenes are impressive, given the film technology of the time.

2) True Romance

While directed well enough, most of Tony Scott’s films are not known for their amazing scripts. A little known writer/director named Quentin Tarantino solved that problem on this classic. Finally you see the marriage of Scott’s kinetic shot style with a script that can match punch for punch.

3) Beverly Hills Cop II

With the first Beverly Hills Cop film being such a hit, and Eddie Murphy’s star on the rise, Scott managed to create a film that stands up to its lofty action buddy film predecessor.

4) The Hunger

A cult classic that is not fully horror, nor fully romance, but sits in an interesting place in-between. He also gets big credit for the perfect use of David Bowie (and years before Bowie would make his popular film breakthrough in Labyrinth). A bonus is the opening sequence in which Scott goes against his nature and directs a languid scene in a smoky club with Bauhaus’ “Bela Legosi’s Dead” pounding in the background, that showed his more subtle touches as a director.